And then we were three

Welcome to You and Baby. John, Ella and I started You and Baby when Ella first arrived in our lives. We wanted to make it easy for new parents to find things that they needed to set up for their new Baby. There is so much stuff out there and half the time You don't know what to buy, what You'll need and what You'll actually use it for when Baby arrives. We bought some stuff that we didn't use, we bought some stuff that didn't work and we bought some stuff that we couldn't live without. The stuff on You and Baby is the stuff we loved and couldn't live without, and none of the stuff we didn't need.

Wow, my very first Blog. I haven't ever done one of these before! I thought the most helpful thing I could do, especially for new Baby parents, is Blog about our Baby journey, what we did that we found helpful and the stuff we tried that didn't work for us. Every Baby is different and there is so much advise and information out there, but the most helpful thing we have found is talking to other Baby parents and hearing what really worked for them with their Baby, and the reality of having a Baby rather than just theories in a book. I'm looking forward to reading Your comments about Your Baby journeys.

We might start with Ella's arrival. I promise, nothing gross or graphic :)

Beautiful newborn Ella Rose

Ella joined us in July 2010. She was 2 days late, but when she decided to arrive she entered the world pretty quickly, leaving Mummy a litttle worse for wear, needing a small surgery and some blood transfusions. But before anything happened I made sure that Ella got some Mummy time, skin on skin, and she used her instincts to find and self attach for her very first feed. She was so gorgeous that she was all I could think of, everything else didn't seem important once she was there... the doctors and nurses, the noise, the coming and going all was just happening, but I was just happy holding my beautiful girl.

Ella and John

John had had a couple of hours cuddling Ella. The hospital was so busy that night they left him sitting in the birth suite holding the Baby. My mum, Narna, arrived a couple of hours after the birth, she had had to travel to get to us. So she took charge, took some great pictures of Daddy and Ella.

I was pretty tired and worn out when I got back from surgery and couldn't wait to see and hold my gorgeous little girl.  John and Narna had stayed in the nursery with Ella until I arrived. We eventually sent John home for a well deserved sleep and Narna took over looking after Mummy and Baby.

The first night was a bit surreal. I was all shaky from the surgery and having trouble holding Ella. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to feed her I was so weak. Some of the midwifes suggested giving her formula, but Narna knew we were determined to breastfeed so she worked with me to turn down the formula. Eventually the shaking died down enough for me to hold her and feed her.

We were in a room with 3 other mummies and their babies. The head midwife came through at some point and tried to get Narna to leave, but we managed (after much discussion and a little bit of good old fashion determination) to get them to concede to Narna staying quietly with us. I was too shaky to hold the Baby when she needed it and a bit overwhelmed by my physical helplessness after the surgery to feel confident that I would be able to care for Ella. Narna had a gorgeous time of sitting, nursing Ella into the small hours of the night. At about 3am I felt recovered enough and Ella was settled enough so I encouraged Narna to head off for some well deserved sleep.

Ella with her tired but happy Mummy

What an amazing 24 hours! Ella and I stayed in hospital for 3 days total, because I had to have some blood transfusions. I was totally jealous of the other Baby mummies coz they got to take their babies home the day after they arrived. But we were happy. We had a healthy and very gorgeous little girl.

In the hospital there was always a midwife or two on duty available to respond to the buzzer if I needed something, or Ella needed something and I needed help to do it (eg pick her up). I saw a Physio one day, there were doctors who were mummy doctors and other doctors who were baby doctors. Ella had health checks, hearing checks and the midwifes gave John and I a demo of how to bath Ella and keep her cord clean.

Day one checkup

So that was our Baby arrival and hospital experience.

I had a couple of bags of stuff that I took to the hospital with me, but here's a list of stuff that I found most useful for our 3 days stay:

Mummy list

• PJs (a couple of pairs) and a dressing gown
• Underwear, including comfy Maternity bras
• Breastpads and Maternity pads
• My own pillow from home!
• a good basic Baby Care book to flick through as things arise
• Bubbalog
• Mobile phone for texting
• Camera
• some small snacks (I liked dried fruit, nuts and those yummy apricot balls)

Baby list

• Nappies and wipes. I took disposibles for the hospital stay.
• Singlets and onsies - a couple per day
• Coveralls - a couple per day
• Socks
• Wraps for swaddling
• A cute warm little outfit and beanie for taking Baby home in.

Well, there it is. My first ever Blog. I hope you enjoyed it and I look forward to writing again soon.